Hit home for me, big-time. The book was given to me over 12 years ago, and I keep coming back to it. I'll occasionally meet folks who struggle with the same core equation McGee defines in the book, (performance + the approval of others = significance), and recommend it wholeheartedly. Love the worksheets the book comes with as well.

Excellent foundational text on identity in Christ.

Mr. McGee is a super-smart guy who conveys his message well. That alone warrants four stars. And he certainly offers readers five stars' worth of Jesus. However, given that I actually felt LESS significant and even MORE condemned AFTER reading it, I can only cough up a three-star rating. It's awesome that McGee's book has seemingly helped so many people. But for me, I walked away from the experience learning only that, no matter what, even when I'm right -- I'm wrong.

Wow, this book was exactly what I needed. I think I’ve always wrestled with the belief that desiring significance/self-worth is bad. But we are created with a need for both and if we ignore that, we will find ourselves searching in the wrong places. We are designed to be significant to God. This book shows you how to replace the lie that self-worth=performance + other peoples opinions to what self-worth and significance truly looks like in God’s eyes. It lays out foundational biblical truths that are harder to ponder, like justification, sanctifications, propitiation, etc in easy to understand ways that teach us to rise above the false security of performance and people pleasing to a higher plane, a secure place. This book gave words, truth, and guidance to my pain points that have kept me stuck in lies in ways many other books on the topic haven’t. I’d highly recommend it for anyone who is stuck in the bad habit and false thought that their value comes from peoples opinions and performance.

The points in this book are true even if you don't believe in God. People can fall into the trap of needing other's approval, feeling unworthy of love when you fail, or feeling shame and hopelessness. The solutions to the traps are God centered of course since this is a Christian based book.

In the past I would have felt nothing when reading the solutions, but after going through some hard times, yea it kind of does feel like only God can give me peace and keep me together.

I had high hopes for this book but it didn’t come through. Like so many Christian self-help texts, it lacked concrete action items and was very lean in scriptural references.

This is one of the best, most helpful books I've ever read. It has literally changed my life and my perception of how God views me. Unfortunately, it is also one of the dryest books I've read. I wish the writer was more engaging, but it's SO WORTH slogging your way through some of the more dryness to absorb the content.

Hemska saker vad länge det tog att läsa den här boken. Jag har verkligen hamnat att kämpa mig igenom den. Boken var trögläst och svårläst, och endera flummig och upprepande eller djup och givande. För mig blev boken bara en kamp att läsa sida efter sida. Jag försökte stanna upp och läsa saker flera gånger för att verkligen förstå och ta till mig och bearbeta, men ändå kändes det som att jag inte förstod (speciellt som att jag verkligen FÖRSTOD i mitt hjärta) vad som verkligen menades. Boken berörde inte mig det minsta, fastän temat i sig berör mig väldigt starkt.
Helt enklet fick jag inte med mig det jag sökte och skulle därför inte heller rekommendera boken till någon, men jag önskar ändå att någon som tycker om att fundera och känner att boken skulle vara till nytta för dem skulle läsa boken, så att jag skulle få bekräftat ifall boken var svårförstådd och inte så givande eller ifall det var bara jag som hade en lite trött hjärna som inte till slut orkade bry sig vad som stod i boken.

The prefect book for Christian that suffer from addiction to the praise of others. Practical biblical insight into the lies that we tell ourselves to make us feel better.

3.5

I likely would have never picked this book up if not for my bible study group. Non-fiction is just not my thing and this book is pretty heavy text bookish for my taste. It was hard slogging through in places and I definitely wouldn't have gotten as much out of it if I'd just been reading it on my own. The weekly chats with the women in my group brought a whole other dimension to this study. McGee asks some probing questions that make a reader dig deep as they evaluate past and present and contemplate how freeing a true relationship with God can be.

As far as use in a bible study: pretty intensive and can get into personal stuff, so if your group isn't at that stage you might want to modify or skip this one. Also, significant reading / homework assignments each week so you want to go in committed. It just wouldn't work if you haven't done the homework.

This book has potential, but it is too focused on the ego. The emotional aspect of this book is distracting. The author wants you to embrace the fullness of justification in God. That is a wonderful thing, and in many places he does it well. However, McGee seems to makes this more egocentric rather than christocentric. I would still recommend it to someone struggling with self-worth.

Use this book to lead recovery groups at Glenfield Baptist Church. It was a great and well received resource.